Introduction
Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School and Sure Start Children’s Centre welcomes its general responsibilities under the new Disability Equality Duty to have due regard to the need to:
promote equality of opportunity between disabled and non-disabled people;
eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the Disability Discrimination Act;
eliminate harassment of disabled persons that is related to their impairments;
promote positive attitudes towards disabled people;
encourage participation by disabled people in public life; and
take steps to take account of a disabled person’s impairments, even where that involves treating the disabled person more favourably than other people.
This Scheme sets out the steps the governing body will take that will result in improved outcomes for disabled pupils, parents/carers and staff in all aspects of school life.
School Ethos, Vision & Values
At Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School and Sure Start Children’s Centre we are committed to ensuring equality of education and opportunity for
disabled pupils, staff and all those receiving services from the school. We aim to develop a culture of inclusion and diversity in which people feel free to disclose their disability and to participate fully in school life. Our admissions policy does not discriminate against disabled pupils.
The achievement of disabled pupils will be monitored and we will use this data to raise standards and ensure inclusive teaching. We will make reasonable adjustments to ensure that the school environment is as
accessible as possible. We will not tolerate harassment of disabled people with any form of impairment.
This school uses the “social model” of disability, as the basis for its work to improve equality for and tackle discrimination against disabled people. This model says that it is the world and society that creates barriers that limit or prevent disabled people from enjoying the same opportunities as people who are not disabled.
Please see our equal opportunity policy for further details.
Definition of Disability
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 defines a disabled person as someone who has a ‘physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long- term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.
According to the Disability Discrimination Act, an impairment is to be treated as affecting the person’s ability to carry out normal day-to day activities, only if it affects one or more of the following:
mobility
manual dexterity
physical co-ordination
continence
ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects
speech, hearing or eyesight
memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand
perception of the risk of physical danger.
The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 has extended the definition of disability to include people with HIV, multiple sclerosis and cancer from the point of diagnosis. Individuals with a mental illness no longer have to demonstrate that it is “clinically well-recognised”; although the person must still demonstrate a long-term and substantial adverse affect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
The Disability Equality in Education (DEE) recommends that all pupils with SEN and those with long term medical needs be treated as disabled for the purposes of the Act and for equality. This is in addition to all pupils with long- term impairments, which have a significant impact on their day-to-day
activities.
How Disabled People have been Involved in the Scheme
Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School and Sure Start Children’s Centre recognises the importance of involving disabled people fully in the
development of our Disability Equality Scheme. We have involved disabled people in the following ways:
Disabled pupils:
We have identified our disabled pupils.
We listen to their views through circle time and through the school council.
The children know that they can approach the learning mentor with any concerns that they have.
No key issues have been identified by our pupils.
Disabled staff:
We have asked all staff to identify any barriers that affect them and how we can plan to overcome them.
Key issues identified by our staff were lifting and carrying, and appropriate seating.
In response to this we have reviewed job descriptions, and advised staff not to carry or lift. We have also purchased specialist seating where required.
Disabled parents/carers:
We have given all parents/carers a questionnaire to identify any barriers and how we can improve the way we meet their needs. We also have an open door policy so parents and carers can approach us directly over any concerns that they have.
No key issues have been identified by our parents and carers.
Disabled members of the local community:
We have given a questionnaire to all groups which make use of our facilities, asking them to identify any barriers and suggest reasonable adjustments.
We have ensured ramped access and priority parking is available to allow disabled members of the community to access all areas of the school.
No key issues have been identified by members of the local community.
How we have gathered information on the effect of our policies and practices on disabled people.
We recognise that our policies and practices may impact on disabled people and in particular on:
the recruitment, development and retention of disabled employees;
on the educational opportunities available to and the achievements of disabled pupils.
We acknowledge that information gathered from a wide range of sources will be required in order to identify the actions which we need to take to promote disability equality. We will ensure that information is gathered in relation to both employment and the delivery of our services. The processes we use for gathering information will include:
Pupil Achievement:
The school tracking system is used to monitor those children on the SEN register and children with disabilities. Any concerns will be investigated and dealt with accordingly.
Resources are allocated appropriately.
Use of reviews and family action meetings.
Links with the Children’s Centre.
Celebrating all positive achievements.
Learning Opportunities:
Ensure the provision of a diverse range of curriculum materials featuring disabled people
Ensure that after school clubs/activities are inclusive and accessible
Positively promote disabled pupils to take part in school activities
Review school visits arrangements on a regular basis and identify strategies to overcome potential disability access barriers.
Admissions, Transitions, Exclusions:
Monitor exclusions to see how many children with disabilities are excluded
Ensure that reasonable enquiries are made at admission/transition stage to identify pupils specific needs
Discussions at home visits
Work with other agencies, such as Health, at transition points
Involvement in the Inclusion Forum
Social Relationships:
The school will improve social relationships between disabled and non- disabled members of the community through:
Ensuring that the school council is involved in the promotion of equality of opportunity
Inviting disabled people/charities into school, classes, assemblies and informally.
Employing, Promoting and Training Disabled Staff:
The school will:
Ensure that robust policies and practices are in place which promote equality and inclusion.
How we will assess the impact of our policies?
The school will use the following methods to assess the impact of policies, procedures, functions and practices of the school on Disability Equality and improve these where necessary:
Relevant staff training
Feedback from pupils, parents and other members of the community, which is done annually
We recognise that all our school’s policies may have an impact on the participation and outcomes for disabled pupils, parents/carers, staff and members of the local community.
We have agreed a programme to review the impact of policies and this is contained on our Action Plan
Our Action Plan
We have produced a disability equality action plan to ensure that we fulfil our general and specific duties under the Disability Equality Duty.
Our existing accessibility plan outlines the steps we are taking to improve:
Curriculum access
Provision of information to disabled pupils
Physical access
We have now incorporated this plan into our overall Disability Equality Scheme action plan.
Reporting
We will report annually about the progress we make on promoting equality of opportunity for disabled people. Our annual report will include details of:
information we have gathered during the year
how this information was used
action points completed during the year and those that are ongoing
We will ensure that disabled people are involved in this process. (The annual report can be incorporated into other documents published by schools
annually including the school prospectus and school web site).
Revisiting the Scheme
Our scheme will be reviewed and revised after a period of 3 years and disabled people will be involved in the process. A new action plan will be produced, responding to issues identified through our impact assessment and included in our annual reports.
Review Date February 2015
Senior Member of Staff Responsible Julie Carson (Head Teacher)
Governor Responsible
Signed:
Date:
